I know we've all seen the fake listings that end up on eBay....they usually have that penny starting bid for a machine that costs thousands and there is always a memo saying "don't bid, the buy it now price is $xxxx and contact me at xxx@xxx.com."

Well, now it seems whoever is doing this has become wiser and is now setting up buy it now options. My guess is they have been able to hack a paypal account and are setting these buy it now auctions at ridiculously low prices in hopes people will buy and send money. Once the money hits the account, they can do whatever they want (buy other stuff, transfer money, etc). For instance, a Brother Quattro 6000 for $2500 and free shipping? Or a Bernina 820 for $2500 (someone actually bought this one too!)

I really don't get it either! But this seller that they are posting under, and it's the same one for all these listings, has their own eBay shop and it seems like they sell quite a bit. So maybe that's what they look for.....

And yes, maybe if they actually spent more time doing something legit, they'd make just as much money or more!

The seller is completely legit and has over 800 feedback, but someone hacked their eBay account....IN fact, this poor soul has over 150 listings that don't belong to them and each one is a buy it now for $2500 with free shipping. And it's a multitude of items...not just sewing machines.

With higher ticket items it's always best to ask for additional photo's so that stock photo's can't be used. It's also a good idea to have a separate bank account that's associated for pay pal, ebay use. If it sounds too good to be true run in the opposite direction. My hope is that the person who's account was hacked won't be responcible.

A clue is to look at items the seller has sold. Most of the ones I've seen are hacked accounts of niche sellers...coin and antique dealers and such, people who have a steady and positive rating. They slip the machine in among the listings. Or a fabricated seller with many recent sales, all private so you can't see what was sold and with similar feedback wording.

Quote: It's also a good idea to have a separate bank account that's associated for pay pal, ebay use.

EXCELLENT ADVICE! I actually set up a separate bank account to handle Paypal transactions after my Paypal account was hacked. We had about $1000 taken out of our joint account (our bank was great and so was Paypal). But after that, I set up an account that I could put paypal funds from selling into and only use my credit card (or bill me later) for all paypal transactions. I personally don't think it's wise to keep main bank accounts linked to Paypal....not in this day and age!

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